When preparing to speak at a meeting, or thinking about writing a book or just talking to a friend about something important, we think about the purpose of the action and how to achieve it. The conceived plan or desire for the desired is called intention. It can be expressed consciously, or it can hide in the depths of the unconscious, manifesting itself in an attraction to a certain area.
The birth of a concept
Intention absorbed the main theses from scholasticism, which separated the mental (intentional) existence of an object and the real one. In the Middle Ages, it was believed that there could be no knowledge of the subject without intervention in it. Thomas Aquinas discussed the nature of intention. He spoke about the formation of intention by the mind in relation to the object being understood. In the 19th century, with the light hand of the psychologist F. Brentano, the concept gained a new life. He believed that consciousness is intentional, that is, it is directed to what is outside of itself. In other words, the concept brings meaning to consciousness. Scientists A. Meinong and E. Husserl developed in their scientific works various approaches to the definition of intention, which later had a significant impact on a number of areas in psychology (Gest alt psychology, personalism, and so on). Another philosopher - M. Heidegger - united careand intentionality, believing that there is an internal connection between them. He argued that "man in his being is a being who cares about being." If a person fails in his "being", then he loses his opportunities.
Intention - what is it?
There are several meanings for the term "intention". The first explains it as "the focus of consciousness on the subject." Intentional include cognitive, emotional, motivational and other mental processes, since the attitude and feelings towards the subject can be different. The object of intention can really exist, or it can be invented, meaningful or absurd. The second interpretation of the concept of "intention" is presented as "direction to the goal" or the target intent of the action.
Intention in psychology
In this science, the term refers to the internal orientation of consciousness to a real or imaginary object, as well as a structure that gives meaning to experiences. Intention is the ability of a person to have intentions, the ability to participate in the events of the day, changing himself. One of the sides of the concept is the ability to perceive an object from different angles, depending on the underlying meaning. For example, considering real estate as a summer holiday destination for a family, a person will carefully familiarize themselves with such issues as comfort, equipment, and leisure activities on the territory. If the same real estate is bought by the same person, then he will first of all pay attention to the ratio of price to the quality of housing. Intention is the birth of a close connection withthe outside world. In situations that are difficult to perceive, a person has learned to weaken the relationship until he is ready to understand the situation.
Psychotherapeutic reception of V. Frankl
Intention in psychology is represented by a method, the essence of which is a person playing his fear or neurosis in a critical situation. The technique was developed by psychologist V. Frankl in 1927 and is still successfully used in practice. The method is called paradoxical intention. An example is the life of spouses who often sort things out. The therapist invites them to quarrel as loudly and emotionally as possible, thus the unpleasant situation becomes controlled. Another example: a student is afraid to make a presentation and is trembling. As part of this method, he is invited to begin to tremble violently himself, thereby relieving the tension that has arisen. The method of paradoxical intention can lead to two results: the action or situation ceases to be painful and uncontrollable, or by switching attention to the arbitrary reproduction of experiences, it weakens their negative impact.
The essence of the psychotherapeutic method
Paradoxical intention considers the process of self-detachment as a mechanism of action, which allows a person to get out of an unpleasant situation. The reception is built on the desire of the person himself to carry out or for someone to do (with a phobia) what he fears. The method of paradoxical intention is activelyused in psychotherapy. It is especially effective when combined with humor. Fear is the biological reaction of the body to dangerous situations, and if the person himself looks for them and can act in spite of fear, then negative feelings will soon disappear.
Wishing to speak out
In linguistics, intention is the initial stage of the birth of a statement, followed by a motive, internal pronunciation and speech. Specific communicative meanings are associated with the concept under consideration, which are expressed in the process of communication. Speech intention (in the broadest sense) is the fusion of need, purpose and motive together, which is formed into a message through the use of communicative means. In a narrower sense, the term is seen as an effective assignment and merges with the notion of an illocutionary act. Doctor of Philology N. I. Formanovskaya considers intention as an idea to build speech in a certain key, form, style.
The difficulty in the study of this term lies in the uniqueness of the object of the experiment, with often vague communicative intentions. Speech messages are always connected with various extralinguistic events, therefore any utterance, even a simple one, is multidimensional. Speeches have a strong-willed attitude and influence the addressee. There is a concept of speech intention of disapproval, which is an integral part of communication. This is a negative manifestation that can lead the conversation into conflict.
The meaning of speech messages. Types of intention
It is necessary to identify the purpose of the addressee's statement, taking into account the relationship of the interlocutors. There are various typologies of illocutionary goals. For example, Professor E. A. Krasina developed the following provisions:
- Assertive purpose is expressed in the urge to "say how things are." The most frequently used statements are “I report”, “I acknowledge” and others.
- Commission carries with it the task of "obliging the speaker to do something." In this case, "I promise", "I guarantee" and so on are often pronounced.
- The directive goal involves trying to "get somebody else to do something". This type includes the statements “I ask”, “I recommend”, “I order” and others.
- Declarative carries the task of "changing the world". Often used statements of recognition, condemnation, forgiveness, naming.
- Expressive purpose seeks to "express feelings or attitudes about a state of affairs." In this case, the verbs used are "sorry", "sorry", "welcome" and so on.
Some psychologists and philologists distinguish between two types of intention. The first personifies the orientation of human consciousness to the surrounding reality in order to accept, cognize, explain. This type of phenomenon is called cognitive. Communicative intention is the orientation of consciousness to achieve the intended goal, for the sake of which a person enters into a conversation or leaves it.
Text and intention
When writing books or articles, the writer relies on a general concept that he himself has defined. IntentionThe work is called "author's intention". Combining speech and author's intentions expresses the worldview of the writer. To designate it, such concepts as a picture and model of the world, concept, point of view, image of the author, text modality, and so on are used. For example, the image of a writer is formed from his opinion about certain areas of life, the image of the narrator and characters, as well as from the compositional and linguistic structure of the text. The author's attitude to objects, his perception of surrounding people and events form a "model of the world", which does not contain a reflection of objective events. Therefore, we can conclude that the writer's view remains unchanged and considers the actions in the work from only one side. The reader also forms his own view of the author's work.
Summarizing knowledge
A holistic personality is characterized by an individual attitude to the world, the initial components of which are the experience of one's situation, the reflection of emotions that have arisen in appropriate images, as well as the birth of a program aimed at preserving and developing a person. For the successful implementation of the personal plan, the desire, the intention of the individual is necessary. Orientation to the result, analysis of the necessary actions are the main steps in achieving the desired. And the opportunity to reformulate your attitude to a problem situation opens the door to a calm and successful life.
